Footwear.



A. MfiLLER.

FOOTWEAR. 21.101110! nun 111111: 28, 1010.

970,381 Patented Sept. 13,1910.

4 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR By jitomeys nu: NORRIPEYENH cu" WASNINOIDN, u. c

A. MULLER.

FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION mm Jun 28, 1910.

970,381 Patented Sept.13,1910

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR d m/ld'llev ADAM MITLLER, 0F MILLVALE BOROUGH. PENNSYLVANIA.

FOOTWEAR.

Specification 01' Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

Application filed June 28, 1910. Serial No. 569,350.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADAM MULLER, a subject of the King of Hungary, residing at Millvale borough, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Footwear, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to footwear, and the object of the invention is to provide a shoe, boot or slipper with a resilient insert or retaining piece for the upper part of a shoe that will retain the shoe, boot or slipper upon the foot, without the use of buttons, laces, clasps or other fastening devices.

I attain the above object by a resilient insert that can be readily embodied in the up per or upper part of the shoe, the resilient insert being durable, inexpensive to install neat in appearance and efficient for the purposes for which it is intended.

The invention will be hereinafter specifically described and-then claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawings form ing part of this specification, wherein Figure 1 is an elevation of a boot in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of a ortion of the upper or leg of the boot, Fig. is a side elevation of a shoe in accordance with this invention, and Fig. 4 is a similar view of a slipper in accordance with this invention.

Reference will first be had to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings wherein the reference numeral 1 designates the upper or leg of a boot 2. The upper or leg has the rear side thereof directly above the heel 3 cut away and stitched or otherwise connected, as at 4 to the edges of the upper or leg 1 is a resilient inverted V-shaped and corrugated insert, comprising two pieces of leather 5 with a piece of rubber or other material 6 interposed between the leather. The resilient insert is corrugated whereby it can be stretched as a foot enters the boot, and after entering the boot the resilient insert contracts the lower part of the upper or leg sufliciently to grip the ankle of a limb and prevent the boot from becoming accidentally displaced from the foot.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings the resilient insert extends from the upper edge of the upper to the heel portion 7 of a shoe and is substantially the same shape as the insert used in connection with the boot. The shoe can be designed with buttons, laces or other fastening devices, whereby the shoe will have the appearance of having been fastened with such devices. The resilient insert used in connection with the slipper is also arranged at the rear end of the slipper and occupies part of the heel portion 7 thereof, the insert in this instance serving the same function as the insert in connection with the boot or shoe. The resilient insert can also be used as a patch or as a portion of the shoe adapted to cover that part of the foot having a corn, bunion or other infection that could not be covered by still" or nonyieldable leather.

lVhat I claim is The combination with a boot or shoe having the rear part thereof cut away, of a substantially V-shaped resilient insert attached to the edges of said boot or shoe at the cut away portion thereof, said insert comprising two pieces of corrugated leather, and a piece of rubber interposed between said pieces of leather, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ADAM MULLER. Witnesses JOHN L. STEPHANY. K. H. BUTLER. 

